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Congressman David Scott made the following statement from the floor of the House of Representatives prior to voting against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), H.R. 3045, on July 28, 2005. The House voted 217-215 to pass the trade agreement in a 2 1/2 hour vote that ended just after midnight. "Mr. Speaker, tonight we stand on the precipice of doing something great for America. And I think we ought to pause for a moment and ask the question: What would the American people want us to do here tonight? "Well, I am here to tell you what I think the American people want us to do. The American people who are watching television tonight, they are hoping with their fingers crossed that finally, finally the Congress will stand up for America. "We stood up for Morocco, we stood up for Singapore, we stood up for China, for India. Now we are about to stand up for the nations in Central America. America is saying, when are you going to stand up for us, the workers, the backbone of America? "This CAFTA is fraught with weaknesses in terms of labor rights all throughout. Ever since we have had our trade agreements, just over the past 10 years we have lost 3 million jobs, manufacturing jobs. We have lost 2 1/2 million jobs to China, to India in servicing. "I say to you tonight, stand up for America and America will be very thankful and very proud that we did. Vote ``no'' on CAFTA . Let us send it back, and let us fix it."

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EXTENDED REMARKS ALSO INSERTED INTO JULY 27, 2005 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: "Trade agreements must benefit both workers and corporations. CAFTA fails to include adequate protections for workers and does not require these Central American nations to bring their laws into compliance with international labor organization core labor standards. "We are losing millions of jobs here in our own country because our trade polices are sending jobs overseas. This is the imbalance in our trade agreements. In the last 10 years, we have lost 2 million manufacturing jobs and 1 million financial services and call center jobs to China and especially, India. "During one of our Financial Services Committee hearings, I asked Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan what he thought was the biggest threat to the American economy and he said the “loss of jobs, the loss of skilled jobs.” We need to ask ourselves how the American people want us to vote on CAFTA tonight. All over the country, they are watching us to see what Congress is going to do. I am here to tell you that Americans want us to stand up for them and protect their jobs, for a change. "We can protect our workers, keep jobs in America and still help our American corporations compete in the international market. Tonight, let’s stand up for America. Ladies and Gentlemen, vote no on CAFTA."